Distance
by Huntress Under Seige
Summary: RedFerno songfic that I promised on my poll. What's a little UST between friends, right? Please check out and review! M/M slash!


This would be the songfic that I promised on my poll! RedFerno unfortunately doesn't have that much love out there, and I wanted to set things right! ...or at least write a little something. Flipping through Christina's album, (trying to find inspiration for _Thousand Years to Love You_), I found this song. It's really cute, and I love the message. I think that we all can relate to it on some level...

Also, there are some weird descriptions for optic color, just because I got tired of finding my own ways of saying "blue". So, I went on Wikipedia, and found these. (just remove the spaces) [http : / / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Category : Shades _ of_ blue]

**Disclaimer:** Don't own them, never have, never will. If I did, then the G1 movie would not have killed all of those epic characters.

Time increments as I use them:

Orn = 1 Earth year

Joor = 1 Earth hour

Breem = 1 Earth minute

Solar cycle = 1 Earth day

Work cycle = 9-5 workshift

Hope that clarifies!

* * *

**Distance by Christina Perri  
**

_The sun is filling up the room,  
_

_And I can hear you dreaming,  
_

_Do you feel the way I do,  
_

_Right now?  
_

_He works too hard, _Inferno thought, as he watched Red Alert slowly cycling out of recharge. Ratchet had finally gotten Red to switch the late shift with Prowl, so that he could get some rest. Since the latest Decepticon attack, Prowl had been limited to light desk work and monitoring due to injuries. The SIC was getting cabin fever, and Red Alert was running himself into the ground; the new arrangement worked well for both parties.

While Red Alert was in the silent depths of recharge, Inferno could feel the calmness and relative happiness that resonated from the Security Director. The innocence and stress-free aura that encompassed the SD reaffirmed Inferno's secret love for the smaller mech. The Earth's sun filtered through the windows in their quarters, shining on the glossy red and white paint. Finally onlining his optics, Red Alert turned to look at Inferno. _  
_

"How long was I out for?" he questioned, adorably rubbing at his optics as he sat up.

"Only fer 'bout seven joors, Red," Inferno placidly answered. _He's so adorable..._ the firetruck thought, lost in the realm of nearly impossible dreams and perfect endings. He always wondered what it would be like to tell Red how he felt, but knowing the lambo's skittish tendencies, he resigned himself to always living in the dreaded friend-zone.

He knew that Red Alert trusted him. He was his bodyguard, and best friend. After all, Red Alert wouldn't let just _anyone_ watch over him while he was in recharge, his weakest state. Inferno was always granted access to see him in the medbay after someone tripped his glitch; heck, he was the only one short of Ratchet himself who could stop an oncoming attack! Inferno knew Red Alert probably better than he knew himself. But if he told Red Alert of his feelings for him, of wanting to be even more open with the SD, then he would probably end up tripping Red Alert's glitch, and any and all chances that he would have had with the small mech would be out of the question.

_I wish we would just give up,_

_'Cuz the best part is falling,  
_

_Call it anything but love,  
_

_And I will;  
_

Red gave him unintentional mixed signals though. Half the time, Inferno was _sure_ that the SD made up excuses just to sit in his lap, or lean up against him, or touch him in some way. It took them a long time to get to that point however, and Inferno was glad for every orn, every megacycle, every joor that it took. He often caught the small mech staring at him, not thinking that he would get caught. Across the rec room, in the security room, even in their quarters, the Lambo's optics never left the red plating.

He sometimes wished that Red Alert would just give up the pretense of not caring for him as more than a friend. He wanted to get to know Red even more than before, but until Red acknowledged that, he would try to keep his distance. But the agony...was it really worth it?

"Why don' we go fer some mornin' Energon, huh Red? That'll wake ya up," Inferno suggested as his friend stood slowly out of his berth and stretched. The sunrise spread across Red's stomach plating, teasingly displaying every detail of the smooth expanse of metal. The small mech leaned his helm back, exposing his eggshell-white neck plating, the light kissing at the seams. A soft groan of pleasure reached Inferno's audios, Red Alert reveling in the feeling of stretching all his muscle cables. All in all, perfection.

Gulping at the image presented to him, Inferno clenched his servos and turned his helm away, suddenly finding the sheets on his berth to be very interesting.

"I'd love to, Inferno," the soft voice replied. Glancing up, Inferno made optic contact with the Security Director's calm electric-indigo optics, which seemed to stare into his very existence. His spark spun more rapidly in his chamber, and his intakes doubled, before Inferno shook his helm slightly to clear the sensation.

"Well, then shall we?" Standing up, Inferno crossed their quarters and gestured to the door with all the playful air of a youngling, holding out his arm in invitation.

"Why, yes, we shall." Red Alert giggled as he accepted the arm, faceplates lightly blushing, and the duo left their quarters. The warmth and heat of the smaller mech seemed like a raging, well, inferno, to the firetruck, scorching his fuel lines. Entering the rec room, Inferno dropped Red off at a table, and went to get the both of them Energon. Two cubes later, the Security mech and his friend entered their true domain; the Security Room.

"It's okay, Prowl, we got it nah," Inferno addressed the mech inside. A nod to both mechs, and Prowl was out the door, probably walking into another trap laid by Jazz to keep him from going straight to his office. Settling in for the work cycle, Red Alert took his customary chair at the center of the wall of monitors, Inferno sitting off to a distance in the back. With guaranteed no talking for the remainder of the work cycle, Inferno was left to his thoughts for company.

Oh joy.

_Make sure to keep my distance,_

_Say I love you when you're not listening,  
_

_How long can we keep this up, up, up?  
_

Inferno wasn't sure how long the game could last. Longing glances, lingering touches, smoldering stares; Inferno was one step away from losing it. He was 90% sure that Red Alert felt _more_ for him than he was letting on. And that 10% chance that he didn't love him back? Utter heartbreak. Just thinking about it made him feel lost and broken, despair dragging down his spark. If only he could see into Red's mind.

Until that moment came, however, Inferno was stuck whispering the truth to non receptive audios. As soon as Red fell into recharge, since Inferno made sure that the SD slept before him, he spoke the warm, accepting truth. _I love you_. He would never do anything to hurt Red Alert; he knew of Red's non-existent luck with lovers from the past, and he wanted nothing more than to be the exception. To be the mech to turn it all around for Red. The yearning haunted his thoughts, and he shook his helm to rid himself of the distraction.

Movement. He needed movement. Stretching out of his chair, the gentle giant meandered over to where the object of his affections sat monitoring the lives of all members of the _Ark._ If only their comrades understood how seriously Red took his job. Then maybe they would have more respect for him and all he did for them. Leaning over Red, the sheer space between them crackled with unresolved tension. The steady intakes of the mech below him hitched, breaking their rhythm.

"Sumthin' wrong, Red?"

_Please don't stand so close to me,_

_I'm having trouble breathing.  
_

_I'm afraid of what you'll see  
_

_Right now.  
_

Red Alert was torn. He wanted to tell Inferno to get away from him, and didn't he know what he was doing to him? Keeping Inferno as far away as possible from him was the only option. He would not open himself up to further torment and embarrassment at the hands of a lover.

Nobody loved glitched mechs. No one. It was fact, one he had long since accepted. Inferno's friendship and trust was something that he took very seriously, and it became a craving, a non-stop yearning for his company. But to take something this pure, this amazing, and raise it to a higher standing, opening itself up for flaws and destruction? _No, _Red decided, _I wo__n't let that happen._

"No, nothing is wrong Inferno, though I would appreciate it if you backed away." The red and white mech grimaced at the tone used; clip and brusque, nothing like his usual comradeship with the firetruck. The guilty silence that followed settled like frost on his plating, freezing the once warm atmosphere between the two of them.

"Oh..a'course Red, I'll...I'll just be over here..." Inferno dejectedly murmured, trudging back to his table in the back of the room.

"Wait!" The rushed command tore its way out of his vocalizer without Red's permission. He didn't know where this sudden rush of courage was coming from, but he wanted to do anything to keep Inferno from feeling that way ever again. Especially at his careless and crass actions.

_I'll give you anything I have,_

_All my broken heartbeats,  
_

_Until I know you'll understand,  
_

_And I will;  
_

Red Alert wanted Inferno to stay close to him, to not leave, but he wasn't sure to what extent. He wanted to be able to have Inferno stay close by him, at all times, but that would mean change. And Red didn't deal well with change. At all. He was comfortable with the dance that they had started. One step forward, three steps back. Twirl and spin around the truth. Jump away from each other's presence. Repeat.

The sick routine had lasted for just over two orns, and Red Alert wanted it to never cease. It had become routine. Normal, even. To see how far they could push the boundaries of their already complicated relationship. To see how much of one they could discover and yet leaving some secrets left unopened. To open up would be to allow for change, for flaws, for others to manipulate their carefully choreographed moves. The balance was too fragile, too precarious to change. Should one falter in their movements, the other was there to balance them before fading away, back into the carefully measured steps.

Surely if someone was willing to be his dance partner for so long, then they were willing and ready to put up with his nonsense? His glitch, his obsessive tendencies, his little known possessive streak? He just wanted someone who was willing to see through the mess that he was on the outside. Could Inferno be that mech?

A resetting vocalizer above him alerted him to the patiently waiting mech leaning over him. Hurriedly, Red Alert mashed together a response.

"Y-you can stay if you want...I didn't mean...I just...nev-never mind...just stay?" Red Alert cringed at the desperate, whiny tone that his vocalizer produced, far from his usual soft, yet confident, tones. The stutter didn't help his confidence levels either. He braced himself for rejection, when a soft chuckle was heard from above his right shoulder. _Great, now he's laughing at me_, the Lamborghini thought, as he suddenly found interest in Camera 34-B.

Instead, a soft grip grabbed his chin, stopping both his movement and his intakes. "Ah'd love ta, Red." The kind brandeis blue optics of Inferno gazed back into his own wide optics. Awkwardly looking away, Inferno relinquished his hold on the smaller mech's helm, and settled into a chair on the side. His optics roved over the monitors, though not to the same caliber as his friend.

The previous frozen silence melted away, leaving his plating and face feeling warmer than before. The easy friendship soothed all doubts; and yet, managed to create more.

_Make sure to keep my distance,_

_Say I love you when you're not listening,  
_

_And how long can we keep this up, up, up?  
_

Inferno wasn't the only one who gave in to the pressure to speak the truth. Whenever the firetruck was otherwise engaged, the security mech found himself tracking the mech's movements with his critical optics. At first, he shrugged it off as being observant with his new bodyguard, in case of an emergency. Just after an orn of doing this, however, he found himself wanting the mech to turn around and catch him in the act, just so he would have an excuse to tell the mech how he felt.

Make no mistake; Red Alert knew of Inferno's affections towards him. Just as he was sure that Inferno was well aware of his _own_ feelings towards the mech. And yet, the dance continued.

_And I keep waiting for you to take me_

Inferno wanted to give Red Alert the confidence to ask him how he felt about him in the first place. _Just reach out and ask me Red, you should know by now that I wouldn't make fun of you…We've been through too much together, why should I leave you now? _

He leaned slightly towards his friend, playing it off as finding a more comfortable position in the chair, watching for his reaction. Red Alert stiffened, and shifted farther away in his chair, almost imperceptibly, lightly blushing.

"Red…wha' are we doin'?" Inferno questioned. He loved Red, he really did, but his patience was wearing thin with the predicament that they found themselves in. Not that he was mad at Red Alert, just upset with how Red Alert seemed intent on dragging this out. Inferno knew that he should have been more patient with the mech, but he wanted to get his feelings out in the open. To have his Lamborghini in his arms, to kiss him on the sensory horns, to be able to have him and call Red Alert _his_ in every sense of the word; he was so close to realizing his dream, and he wanted it to become a reality.

"Well…I'm watching monitors, and you are distracting me…" Red Alert's attempt at humor dragged Inferno deeper into his emotional instability.

"I meant b'tween us. Don' think that Ah don' see wha's goin' on here…" Inferno began. Red Alert spun around in his chair, watching Inferno with an incredulous gaze. He opened his mouth to speak before Inferno shushed him by raising his servo in a silencing motion.

"Red…Ah like ya…have fer a while nah…and Ah know that ya like me to…when are we going to get past this?" Inferno tried not to sound too annoyed, lest he give the lambo the wrong impression.

_And you keep waiting to save what we have, _

_So I'll;_

Red Alert balked at the sudden bluntness that his friend spoke to him with. Well, the dance was coming to an end, rather abruptly. And there was nothing he could do about it.

"Inferno, I…its true. I do like you as well. But you know as well as I do that I don't deal with change very well. It took orns to get us to where we are now; how long would it take us to get to the next step? And don't get me wrong, I want us to explore…whatever this," he gestured between the two mechs, "is, but I don't want to get hurt again. I just…" Red Alert trailed off, not daring to meet his friends optics. His demanding paranoia urged him to look at the monitors, keep personal issues out of his work cycle.

"Hey…" Inferno's southern drawl reached towards Red, comforting him on more than one occasion. It was the only thing short of a medical override that could encourage Red to overcome is glitch, calm his paranoia, and soothe him in his worst moments.

"Look at meh, Red." Blushing heavily, the red and white mech turned his helm towards his friend, but kept his optics looking everywhere but at the fire truck. He gently grabbed his friend's helm, keeping his gaze locked on his faceplates.

"Listen to meh Red. Ah don' care 'bout the timin'. Bein' in a relationship is 'bout sacrifices, and doin' thin's to keep both partner's happy. I wan' to make yah happy, Red. Pace doesn' mean a thin' to meh."

Inferno watched the disbelief wash across the handsome faceplates of his lover, before he spoke again.

"R-really? I mean...really?" If Red Alert's faceplates got any hotter, Inferno was sure that the small mech would give himself a fever.

Smiling earnestly, he replied, "Yes, Red."

Needless to say, he was surprised when Red Alert surged upwards out of his grip, placing a heated kiss upon his lips. The smaller mech grabbed the fire truck's servos, to prevent him from interfering, as he pulled away and gently mouthed down Inferno's jawline.

_Make sure to keep my distance,_

_Say I love you when you're not listening,  
_

_How long till we call this love, love, love?  
_

Pulling away, Inferno looked down at the panting mech. "Red, wha-"

"I never said that I needed to move slowly...I just needed to know that you would respect my decisions that I made in the relationship. You already know that I would respect yours...it was kinda a thank you..." Red Alert explained, blushing even more so at the end.

"Aww, Red. Ya didn' have ta do anythin' fer meh...but Ah'm glad ya feel tha' Ah'll respect ya." Smiling gently, Inferno kissed Red Alert on the nasal ridge, before gesturing towards the monitors. "But n'till our off shift, we should prob'bly be watchin' the moniters, don'cha thin'?"

Mystified, Red Alert, merely nodded, before turning back to his security cameras, still holding Inferno's servo.

* * *

Ta-Da! Aren't they sweet? Leave a review please! It gives me motivation to get off my aft and get stuff done! This was my first time writing Inferno and Red Alert, so any character mistakes (especally Inferno's accent) lemme know!

3 Huntress


End file.
